The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has suspended its nationwide strike after reaching an agreement with Dangote Refinery on workers’ rights to unionise.
The deal was sealed at a closed-door meeting convened by the Department of State Services (DSS). The Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, and representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) were present. Acting NLC General Secretary, Benson Upah, confirmed the outcome.
The Ministry of Labour said it would issue a formal statement soon.
The breakthrough followed a conciliation meeting called by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment on Monday, NUPENG had threatened strike action over the refinery’s initial refusal to recognise union rights.
National executives of NUPENG, leaders of the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), as well as officials of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and Dangote Group, attended the meeting.
According to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), both sides agreed that unionisation is a legal right. Employees of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals who wish to join a union will be allowed to do so.
The MoU stated that the process would begin immediately and end within two weeks.
“After exhaustive deliberations, the following resolutions were reached by both parties:
“That since workers’ unionisation is a right in line with the provisions of the extant laws, the management of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals agreed to the unionisation of employees of Dangote Refinery and the unionisation of employees of Petrochemicals, who are willing to unionise.
“That the process of unionisation shall commence immediately and be completed within two weeks (9th – 22nd September, 2025), and it was agreed that the employer will not set up any other union.
“Arising from the strike notice, no worker or employee of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical will be victimised,” the MoU read.
In line with this agreement, NUPENG suspended its strike with immediate effect. Both parties will report back to the Minister of Labour a week after the process ends.
The MoU was signed by Dangote Group Managing Director Sayyu Dantata, O.K. Ukoha for NMDPRA, and Ojimba Jibrin for Dangote Group. Labour was represented by Benson Upah for the NLC, N.A. Toro for the TUC, NUPENG President Akporeha Williams, and General Secretary Afolabi Olawale. Amos Falonipe, Director of Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations, signed on behalf of the Minister of Labour.
During the strike, Dangote spokesman Anthony Chiejina insisted, “there is no fuel shortage, everything is going on,” adding that talks were still in progress at the time.
NUPENG’s action drew support both at home and abroad. The NLC, global union IndustriALL (Switzerland), and the International Lawyers Assisting Workers (ILAW) network (Washington) all backed the strike.